To fu or not to fu? ;)

[CorporalChicken]

I have been doing a fair bit of reading up on the raw food lifestyle and fruitarianism etc and have a bit of a dilemma.

I'm going to coax myself into the lifestyle by allowing tofu (lightly grilled or stir fried), occasionally raw, alongside raw fruit/veg until I'm ready to make a full transition.

The cooking process of tofu is as follows (sort of): soya beans have to be soaked, a liquid squeezed from them, the liquid boiled to get rid of an enzyme that the body can't digest, a coagulant added, then the liquid poured into a container, where it will form a cheese (bean curd) from the liquid.

From what I've read (and logically), the suggestion is there that the body is at its happiest and purest in a raw diet state, that cooked foods are blah etc.

I've always considered tofu a superfood... but tofu goes through a boiling process.

Who's right? :confused:

[sport]

I have read lots of bad reports on tofu. I will try and find something and post it here. If you want to keep something cooked in your diet for a while I would recomend that you use millet or quinoa porridge.

[vickiesltw]

I have been doing a fair bit of reading up on the raw food lifestyle and fruitarianism etc and have a bit of a dilemma.

I'm going to coax myself into the lifestyle by allowing tofu (lightly grilled or stir fried), occasionally raw, alongside raw fruit/veg until I'm ready to make a full transition.

The cooking process of tofu is as follows (sort of): soya beans have to be soaked, a liquid squeezed from them, the liquid boiled to get rid of an enzyme that the body can't digest, a coagulant added, then the liquid poured into a container, where it will form a cheese (bean curd) from the liquid.

From what I've read (and logically), the suggestion is there that the body is at its happiest and purest in a raw diet state, that cooked foods are blah etc.

I've always considered tofu a superfood... but tofu goes through a boiling process.

Who's right? :confused:

I can not tell you who's right or wrong. But, you need to consider a couple of things if you are going to keep eating it. In the united states even organic soy may have been genetically engineered. I did not realize this until recently.

My female friend started lactating. when she started eating a large amount of soy products. She went to her alternative doctor. It was explained that it was from all the crap that they add to soy in the US.

She now gets her from like the asain market and then only if it is from another country where they do not genetically engineer their crops.

Just food for thought. :eek:

Lil' Brat

[Tombi]

CC

Just before I started raw I kept thinking how am I gonna do without that good ole' tofu. All I could think of was crumbling it up adding some turmeric, curry and other seasonings and wa-la scrambled eggs! After doing a little banana search here I found out that tofu was not included in a raw food plan. I wanted to be completely raw (100%) Being completely raw meant so much to me that I told myself I will do without it for the 30 day challenge and then see I feel about it. Well here it is 5 months later and guess what I don't want it, don't crave it and most importantly...I do not need it. It is not good for me.

Do the 30 day challenge without it and other things you crave and see how you feel after the end of the 30 days. There are soooooooo many foods to try and experience. Embrace your raw food journey! Most of all have fun! Get Alissa's book if you haven't yet or until you do use that little banana thingy to search reciepes for things that are good, good for you and treat you good!

Enjoy your journey!

[Helen Of Tennessee]

Due to my thryoid disease I avoid soy/tofu at all costs!!!!

The Magic Bean? Soy-tainly Not!
http://www.thedoctorwithin.com/articles/magic_bean.html

Soy: Is it Healthy or is it Harmful
Dr. Joseph Mercola
http://mercola.com/2004/jan/21/soy.htm

Thyroid Disease: The Dangerous Downside of Soy Products
http://thyroid.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.thyroid%2Dinfo.com/articles/soydangers.htm

Soy-Food, Wonder Drug, or Poision – Dr. McDougall
http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2005nl/april/050400pusoy.htm

Coconut-Info.com – Soy Alerts – scroll down to bottom of page:
http://www.coconut-info.com/links.htm

The Dark Side of America’s Favorite “Health” Food
http://thyroid.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.westonaprice.org %2Fsoy%2Fdarkside.html

New Findings on the Soy/Thyroid Connection
Soy Expert Daniel Doerge Revisits the Issue
http://thyroid.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.thyroid%2Dinfo.com/articles/sherrillsellman.htm

The Shadow of Soy by Sean Carson
Requiem for a Thyroid - Drs. Larrian Gillespie, Richard Shames
http://www.coconut-info.com/shadow_of_soy.htm

Phytoestrogens Anti-thyroid agents
http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/thyroid.htm

Soy-Based Foods No Good As A Hormone Replacement
http://www.mercola.com/2004/sep/18/hormones_soy.htm

The Truth about Soy
http://www.mercola.com/2004/dec/4/soy_truth.htm

The Whole Soy Story
http://www.mercola.com/2005/feb/26/soy_myths.htm

*********************************************

I know that there are some "pro" links for soy/tofu. Maybe someone else will have those links, but after reading the above links, I know I'm not real excited about having any. I generally like to eat foods that I can make a meal out of . . . watermelon; salad; bananas; etc. I wouldn't sit down and eat soy or tofu straight as a meal. Again, this is just my choice for me :)

[CorporalChicken]

Thanks for the replies :)

My tofu is UK-made, organic (I also make my own occasionally when I'm feeling like a sado-masochist with the washing up sponge)... Tombi- scrambled tofu <drools!> I wont be getting to eat that for a while!

Does this mean that beans such as soya and kidney beans etc shouldn't be eaten at all. After all, if something has to go through a certain preparation before we can eat it to make it more 'safe' such as meat, is this natures way of saying 'No'?

[CorporalChicken]

Thanks for the links, Helen! Looking through them now :)